Devout tightarses take note: The Genius Myth is a kindle daily deal today, for £1.99. www.amazon.co.uk/Genius-Myth-...

KGB: 1992’s subtly terrifying social poison simulator: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Trump speaks with mismatching parentheses [}

I’ve now written about two books worth of idiosyncratic nerdery: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

🚨1000 authoritarian actions. 7 months🚨 I've been tracking Trump's authoritarian actions. From dismantling democratic institutions to militarising immigration enforcement, Trump is reshaping America. In my new post I highlight key authoriarian attacks christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi... 1/2

I wonder what Greek people say when they don’t like or understand algebra…

Some thoughts on, and inspired by, Helen Lewis’ The Genius Myth: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

The Microphones of Edinburgh: A memoir

Ok: 1 like = 1 demographic fact* * may include estimates, generalizations, dataviz, or unsubstantiated claims

What does the square root of ANS actually sell?

“It’s your choice: A satire featuring three men, two gods, and one chair.” jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... (The first short story I’ve written for some while…)

Causal Inference: an opinionated introduction: jonminton.github.io/JonStats/pag...

🆕 Rapid evidence review: Local multiplier effects of changes in public spending We’ve published a new briefing on the local multiplier effects of changes in public spending. Read in full 👇 whatworksgrowth.org/wp-content/u...

Oddly profound comedy skit: professor discovers he’s teaching a chorus of omniscient gods, and doesn’t know what to do with this: youtu.be/bl8Z7Dl7P9A?...

Fan of the show?

"There was little evidence for improving health across successive cohorts born since 1946 when compared at the same age. For several outcomes – obesity, mental ill-health & diabetes – prevalence of poor health was higher in more recent generations, a pattern we term Generational Health Drift"

Hasn’t the world’s smallest violin existed, by definition, as soon as the first violin was made?

“We argue that higher dependency ratios associated with the demographic transition can be considered a manageable challenge for many”

Part bizarre and disturbing, part life-affirming. I’ll be thinking about his story for a long time. Storyville, The Contestant: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002dt13

Definitely got me thinking: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

New blog post: The Contestant: when Japan turned a cruel thought experiment into reality TV: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Am I reading too much into the hyphen here? If it had said “45,47” it would mean “I won. I lost. I won again.” But “45-47” suggests “I never lost and I’m taking a third term because the second was stolen from me”

Spotted in Hull last week: a hot dog that’s both 87% pork AND halal (and vegan)

Repeated measures and random intercepts modelling: more than you could ever want to know (or decipher, given it’s handwritten): jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

The Stand Ident: when trying to make a brand 'nicer' makes it meaningless: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Excellent piece by @chrisgiles.ft.com on how ageing populations haven't yet played out the way we predicted in 2000:

✨✨✨ Recent international comparisons of Life Expectancy show that the UK’s faltering health is a choice for govt - not an inevitability The causes are deep-seated and reflect the long run economic decline and policy neglect over several decades Time for action www.health.org.uk/features-and...

Some thoughts on Alex Garland's film Warfare: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Thankyou to @nrennie.bsky.social, Jordan Richards and @EdinbR.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy for the EdinbR meetup tonight. Nicola made Observable feel like it could now be in my 'adjacent possible', which it absolutely was not before tonight!

Horrifying: the Carers Allowance Cliff Edge: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...

Three game recommendations for non-gamers: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... #blueprince #discoelysium #plants-vs-zombies

🔴 Remember Aria, the “moonshot" research agency dreamed up by Dominic Cummings? It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉 New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...

The 12th annual KOSTAT-UNFPA Summer Seminar on Population is now open for registration. Check out my hands-on Introduction to Demography, followed by Vladimir Canudas Romo's module on Population Health (!), and a third module by Scott Yabiku on Event History Analysis! intpopstat.kr/seminar/01_1...

Some thoughts on the implicit economics of life in the film Mickey 17: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Happy Benign Misinformation Day!

Terrific piece and thread by Tom this. Just one particular bit I want to draw out...

If you're at a loose end, you could watch my complete playthrough of Disco Elysium. Over 90 hours long, so that should do you over the weekend. youtube.com/playlist?lis...

As expected, the APC talk for the sociologists was a lot of fun! In case you're curious, you can find the slides here: osf.io/mvqkx

A new technical (and galaxy-brained conceptual) blog post: modelling how 'things change over time' (including survival modelling): jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... Feedback to improve this very welcome!

Quarter of leading UK universities cutting staff due to budget shortfalls www.theguardian.com/education/20...

“Life expectancy in the Gaza Strip decreased by 34.9 y during the first 12 months of the war, about half the prewar level of 75.5 years…Our approach to estimating LE losses in this study is conservative as it ignores the indirect effect of the war on mortality.” www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Happy to explain the hidden rules of British hospitality to anonymous Germans :)

Today's Connections puzzle finds the data analysts' comfort zone and then straightaway moves into the nightmare zone. #Rstats

RIP David Lynch: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Inside the Factory: Britain’s love letter to ultraprocessed foods. (Now with 100% less Gregggg Wallace)

I watched Queer last week and still don’t know if I liked it: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Some thoughts on social media and cultural unbraiding, broadly inspired by Wham!'s second consecutive Christmas Number One: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

The age of words is over.

Some recent demography-related publications I’ve enjoyed reading

The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. All three statements are true at the same time. Understanding this is key to solving big global problems. We believe data & research can help us understand both the problems we face & the progress that’s possible. 🧵